If you thought your family was strange...Try being Keira Kelly. A member of a powerful paranormal family, Keira elected to stay among humans in the Texas Hill Country when the rest of the clan moved (lock, stock, and grimoire) to Canada. But family duty means still having to keep an eye on cousin Marty -- a genetic aberration who turned out 100% human, poor guy. And recently Keira's been having violent dreams -- or are they visions? -- featuring Marty as the victim of a vicious murder. Something sinister seems to be brewing in little Rio Seco. Can Keira get to the bottom of it all while avoiding entanglement with her former lover, Sheriff Carlton Larson?

Maria's giving away a copy of Matters of the Blood in a contest. To enter, just leave a comment telling us about your first vampire gateway experience. The contest runs through Wednesday, March 10, and a winner will be selected by random draw.

Hmm, I think the one that made me really interested was an episode of "The X-Files."-----------------------------------------------------------

Vampires: the Gateway Drug by Maria Lima

Hi, my name is Maria and I’m an addict.

I got my first hit around twelve or thirteen when my father handed me a copy of Dracula--along with a hardbound copy of The Complete Sherlock Holmes. It wasn’t long after that I discovered Mary Stewart’s Gabriel Hounds on the wall-to-wall bookshelf in our living room. Then my dad’s business partner, whom we called Uncle Jack, blew my mind open with a three-book set: Lord of the Rings. (Little did I realize that’s how pushers worked: befriend the kid, talk about the high and then give them a taste…)

I was swept into the world of dark mystery, blood, romanticism, adventure. How could I resist such delicious temptations as Frank Langella’s Dracula. [Marta's note: awesome video here.] It debuted while I was in college. My roomie and I drawn to its power. We sat silent in the dark, letting the fantasy wash over us, then walked back to our dorm, sighing over the tortured darkness of Langella’s vampire, the beauty of Lucy (angry at the ridiculous swapping of Lucy and Mina). Neither of us slept that night as we stared out at our dorm room window, hoping that somehow, this amazing, gorgeous creature of the night would find his way to San Antonio and crawl up onto our wee second floor balcony and shatter the sliding glass door.

I then discovered Tanya Huff and her brilliant melding of two of my favorite genres. I dove in glee into a different Toronto, one that contained the gorgeous Henry Fitzroy.

Turning that first pristine page on a new Charles deLint, I fell into his world of Other, not set in a far off medieval style land, nor on another world, nor even Middle-Earth, but just an open window or door away.

Delighting in the new blossoming of urban fantasy--whether Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, Christopher Golden, Jim Butcher--so many names and amazing stories involving vampires, werewolves, the Fae, demons and angels, I was a happy, happy addict--no more did I have to dig through the dusty stacks in ill-lit used bookstores, nor beg my friends for another book recommendation, another source to sooth my addiction. The onslaught had begun…and luckily, now, not only did I have books to read, there were shows on television--no longer did I have to satisfy my longing with Sunday matinees of Hammer Horror and Christopher Lee.

I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer in awe of Joss Whedon’s talent in finding exactly the kinds of stories I’d craved, then gleefully devoured Angel: the Series with just as much joy. When Joss announced the end of Buffy, I was devastated. Then Angel trumpeted his last hurrah.

Crushed, I scoured TV web sites for signs of more, more, more--needing that fix. Thank goodness and Eric Kripke I didn’t have to wait for long. Two hot guys and a hot car roared onto the scene with Supernatural, bringing me folklore and fantasy, tales of heroes and apocalypses, soothing my need, giving me another fix. I bought more and more books, watched more shows, pored over blog posts to see what other author or show I hadn’t yet found, creating lists of to-be-read and to-watch.

I became a pusher, an enabler, buying copies of paperback releases and shoving them at my friends, hooking them, too. Then at some point, I realized I could do more than just buy my fixes--I could create my own! I wrote and wrote, and eventually, I too became a purveyor of the drug, with my own mix of vampires, shapeshifters and other supernatural creatures. No longer just a consumer, I’d built my own crackhouse, telling the stories pounding in my head, pushing them out to the world in hopes that they, too, would taste the joy as I did, decades ago.

I’m still hooked: on vampires, mysteries, strong heroines and fantasy tales. So yeah, vampires are a total gateway drug…be careful, one taste, one bite and you, too could become an addict.------------------------------

Thanks, Maria!

Remember to leave a comment about your first vampire gateway experience in order to enter the contest for a copy of Matters of the Blood.

GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY

This week's theme is longing and desire, and these are in honor of Maria's favorites.

34 comments:

Barb P
said...

Hi Maria & Marta! My first vampire gateway experience was Dark Shadows and Barnabas Collins, when I was 6 years old. I remember racing home from school w/my best friend to watch the last 15 min everyday. Boy I loved that show. I have been addicted to vampires ever since.

where shall I start with my "gateway" experience, like most everyone else it was reading Dracula by Bram Stoker. I also was a devotee of cheesy vampire movies watching with my father as a child and hiding behind his chair when it got to the point of Bela Lugosi saying "I vant to suck your blood". My modern vamp cheese of course includes Buffy in 1992, Interview With The Vampire in 1994, Vampires in 1998 , Blade 1 in 1998, Blade 2 in 2002, Near Dark in 1987 and 30 Days Of Night in 2007. My other older faves are from my teen and early twenties and include Salem's Lot in 1979, The Lost Boys in 1987, and Fright Night in 1985.

Now that I have found books to read my Vamp gateway is so huge it is just way too big to put in print on a comment!!!!jackie b central texasjacabur2008(at)gmail(dot)com

My first experience was with Dark Shadows and Barnabas Collins. I had been reading for yrs but never a vampire book. So when Dark Shadows come on TV I was not sure I wanted to watch but did and liked it. I have been reading for over 55 yrs but just now going into the vamps and more paranormal.The book sounds great and I would love to win. Thanks for the opportunity to enter.

You guys are all great!! And I can't believe I forgot to mention Dark Shadows. I used to race home from school to watch. I remember being so upset one day that the episode was pre-empted for a space shot! I think I was 14 at the time. My vampire fix came before NASA, darn it!

And of course, the wonderful Lost Boys. I went to go see that by myself on my birthday, because my roommates had gone out of town. Loved every cheesy moment and still do!

My vampire gateway must ahve been Buffy: I simply loved that dark and passionate repressed love between Buffy and Angel, and I loved that Angel was complex: sure he was fighting for the good side and was in love with Buffy, but he had a dark side, and it was thrilling to see Angelus come back and his cruel ways.

I've also had a long time love affair with vampires! Mostly through books but also through movies and TV - like Dark Shadows.

It was this paranormal soap opera that really hooked me on vampires. I so hoped Barnabas would find happiness. Not long after that a friend loaned me a copy of Dracula which thrilled and frightened me.

Hmmm..... you're really making me think Martha!I guess it would have to be watching The Lost Boys when I was 12 (RIP COREY)..... i loved everything vampy since then. The first book though was Dracula maybe about a year later.WOW, those were the days! lol...

As with a lot of people Bram Stokers Dracula was my introduction to vampires. Then later all the Hammer Movies starring Vincent Price and bookwise the Anne Rice novels.Lately I delighted in the Buffy series.